Asking Questions About Public Health
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Asking Questions About Public Health: The Role of Epidemiology Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 1 Why Teach Epidemiology? ­ Public health perspective ­ Scientific method (reasoning & research skills) ­ Critical thinking & interdisciplinary synthesis ­ Health literacy (e.g., interpreting health news) ­ Tools Sapp for assessment, program planning & evaluation SENCER 8-3-13 2 The Role of Epidemiology in Public Health After we ask questions about pubic health… Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 3 What is Epidemiology? “A branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population” (Merriam-Webster, 2013) “The study of the distribution and determinants of healthrelated states or events in the population, and the application of this study to control health problems” (Last JM, ed. A dictionary of epidemiology, 4th ed, 2000) Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 4 Teaching Epidemiology Integrate into existing courses Sapp Course Epi Topic Biology Disease transmission Chemistry Screening tests Sociology Risk perception Psychology Study design, bias, confounding Statistics Epidemiologic measures Environmental science Ecology and (re)emerging diseases Policy Interpreting epi studies SENCER 8-3-13 5 Teaching resources ­ Many resources* available to help integrate epidemiology into existing courses ­ ­ ­ Young Epidemiology Scholars (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) Teaching units with classroom activities by discipline Epidemiology Education Movement (NIH funded) Links to teaching materials focused on elementary through high school students. Many materials are appropriate for use in higher education. CDC Epidemiology Case Studies (Association for Prevention Teaching & Researcher) Links to 26 case studies developed at CDC and used in training for Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officers. Recommended for college students and above. *See handout for more Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 6 Teaching Epidemiology Stand-alone course possibilities: ­ Open to all majors ­ First-year initiative course ­ Open to (or mandatory for) all science majors ­ Lower- or upper-level course Who teaches it? ­ Sapp Anyone with epi training SENCER 8-3-13 7 Undergrad Epidemiology at SJSU ­ Who takes this course? ­ Required for Health Science majors ­ Available to students in other departments ­ Biology, nursing, policy, communications ­ History Sapp of the course ­ For 20 years- same curriculum ­ Changing interests prompted an overhaul SENCER 8-3-13 8 Each objective mapped to weekly topic(s) Student Learning Objectives Sapp 1 • Definitions & history 2 • Scientific method 3 • Epidemiologic measures 4 • Descriptive epidemiology & health disparities 5 • Analytic epidemiology & study design 6 • Error in epidemiological studies 7 • Interpreting epidemiologic evidence (causality) SENCER 8-3-13 9 Course Format – “Scaffold Approach” 3 hours per week (16 weeks) Uses explored Knowledge applied Small sections Large groups (25 students) (75-100 students) Campus & community projects 1 2 3 Topics introduced Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 10 1 Topics Introduced Homework* Quiz* Epi in the news* (25 students) Interactive lecture Activity* * Weekly deliverable Small sections Study guide Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 11 “Epi in the News” Example Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 12 Sapp 13 Sapp 14 2 Uses Explored Large group classes (75-100 students) Guest speakers Outbreaks Public health official Sapp Careers in epidemiology Panel Activities Health policy, Environmental Epi Epidemiology in the Media, Social Epi Lobbyist Science writer SENCER 8-3-13 Data scavenger hunt Disease transmission game Herd immunity simulation 15 “The speakers helped me understand that epidemiology provides the tools to find out how to prevent disease…. and improve the health of the whole population.” how d n rsta like e d n Iu ics s … a b w ce y n g “No e o l d i o i nc emi d d i n p a e ce n y.” e l a a d v y r e pr eve d e s are u “As far as m y own caree r, I never thoug ht I would need epidem iology but now I realize that I will!” Sapp Student responses to the “Careers in Epi” Panel “As they t old to day op us about their day erations, I realized they were applying exactly what we w ere learni ng in clas s.” “I was left thinking about how epidemiology can help us to distinguish good data from bad data…. in order to sort through all the health information in the media.” “I am now convinced that in order to ultimately make a difference, you must first ask questions and then have the necessary tools to answer them.” 16 3 Knowledge Applied ­ Epi students conduct assessments & evaluations of services, policies, behaviors Design & administer surveys ­ Analyze data ­ Interpret & communicate findings ­ ­ Collaboration with other classes, campus groups, community organizations Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 17 Department Mission Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 18 Examples Smoking: w“Clean up butts” day wCampuscommunity smoking cessation program Sapp Food: wGarden to Table wFood Justice Ministry wSecond Harvest Food Bank Homelessness and residency: wInn Vision homeless intervention program wProject SHINE (elder naturalization) SENCER 8-3-13 Children’s health: McKinley Elementary w Obesity w Violence w Girls’ group 19 ary t n e m y Ele e l n i lub K C Mc h t l Hea Girls Girls decide what health topics they want to learn about, then the mothers and SJSU Health Science students plan and facilitate the meetings. Learn about health while having fun! • • • • art cooking field trips physical activities 20 Video Sapp 21 Extra credit example: Second Harvest Food Bank ­ How do users get to the food bank? ­ How far do users travel? ­ What are the travel conditions? ­ What are some long-term solutions? Sapp SENCER 8-3-13 22 Conclusion ­ Student surveys showed that students are happier with the new course format, and perceive greater benefit. ­ The “SENCERized” epidemiology course provides students with tools they will use in subsequent courses and future careers. ­ Epidemiology courses Sapp can be taught in a variety of existing SENCER 8-3-13 23
